25^ Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



gravelly loams, will g"ive satisfactory results with alfalfa if the 

 drainage is good and the soil is otherwise in good crop producing 

 condition. 



Many people make the fatal mistake of expecting alfalfa to 

 do well on soils that are not fit to properly produce any kind of 

 a crop. Due consideration must be given to the fact that alfalfa 

 requires large amounts of plant food. After it is thoroughly 

 established and properly inoculated with its nitrogen gathering 

 bacteria, alfalfa will supply itself with nitrogen from the air, but 

 all mineral food elements must come from the soil, and as the 

 crop is naturally a large producer, large quantities are required. 

 Only soils that are in good crop producing condition should be 

 used for alfalfa. 



Wherever some special fertilization is desired to hasten de- 

 velopment, stable manure is one of the best things that can be 

 used. Numerous experiments and the experience of many farm- 

 ers have shown that stable manure not only helps to insure a 

 good stand and strong growth, but that it also greatly facilitates 

 the inoculating process, and often special inoculation is not neces- 

 sary where manure is used. From five to ten tons per acre should 

 be applied, according to the quantity available and the probable 

 needs of the soil. Concerning methods of applying manure, the 

 bulk of the evidence is in favar of plowing it under, although 

 well rotted manure may be advantageously disked into the sur- 

 face. When sufiicient manure is not to be had and a commercial 

 fertilizer is to be used, a mixture containing 1 to 3 per cent of 

 nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 6 to 8 per cent 

 of potash, applied at the rate of three or four hundred pounds 

 per acre, will probably give the best results. 



Concerning the use of lime for alfalfa on Indiana soils, we 

 have not yet secured sufficient data to warrant us in making any 

 definite recommendations. In the experiments with alfalfa on 

 the University Farm lime has been applied at different times 

 without any apparent effect. In other sections of the state, we 

 have been able to learn of but few cases where lime has been 

 used for alfalfa, and in none of these has it shown any important 

 effect. 



The most satisfactory way to test the need of a soil for lime 

 is to make a small trial application in a representative portion of 

 the field under suspicion and watch the results. Applications of 



